The New York Liberty hit the road to face the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night in the WNBA’s return from its Summer Olympics break.
New York’s Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, fresh off Team USA’s 67-66 victory over France in the gold medal game on Sunday, will anchor the league-leading Liberty (21-4) in their third meeting against the Sparks this season.
Stewart and Ionescu, who are both projected to compete at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, were part of a USA women’s basketball squad that captured its eighth straight gold medal.
Ionescu, a guard, is averaging 19.8 points and 6.1 assists per game for the Liberty. Stewart, a forward, has averaged 19.3 points, nine rebounds and two steals per game.
The Sparks (6-18) are led by WNBA all-star Dearica Hamby. The forward is averaging 19.2 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
Hamby, a member of USA’s 3×3 women’s basketball team at the Paris Olympics, secured a bronze medal alongside her teammates Cierra Burdick, Rhyne Howard and Hailey Van Lith.
USA beat Canada 16-13 in its final 3×3 game to bring home the bronze.
The Liberty won their first two contests versus the Sparks by 93-80 and 98-88 scores in June. New York has won nine of its last 11 games, while Los Angeles has fallen in 10 of its previous 13 contests.
New York is 9-3 on the road, and Los Angeles is 4-8 at home.
